Combination display stand



Jan. 6, 1931. v 555 1,787,982

COMBINATION DISPLAY sum) Filed March 12, 1929 24 VENTOR Z1) BY X /W 3 ATTO NEY Patented Jan. 6, 1931 PATENT- OFFICE DUDLEY HESS, OF WOODSIDE, NEW YORK COMBINATION DISPLAY STAND Application filed March 12, 1929. Serial No. 846,316.

This invention relates to display stands, lamp stands, and the like, and special objects of the invention are to provide a stand of this character, which may be quickly 6 changed at will to present a great variety of different ornamental forms. In this connection, it is known that the sale of merchandise is greatly promoted by attractive display of the same. This requires the store keeper to be constantly on the alert to attract attention to his display. The present invention is an answer to this need and places in the hands of the dealer a means by which he may alter the form of his display in a great multitude 1 of attractive designs as often and as many times as he considers desirable.

The novel features of construction, combinations and relations of parts by which these desired results are attained are disclosed in the following specification.

The drawing accompanying and forming part of the specification illustrates certain practical embodiments of the invention, but it will be understood from the intent and broad scope of the following description and claims that the structure may be modified as regards this disclosure without departure from the true spirit and basic scope of the invention.

stand as assembled in one of its many possible forms; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the stand assembled in a different form and having added thereto the additional feature of an electric lamp; Figs. 3 to 14 inclusive are detached detail views of differentunits to be used in the make-up of the stand. I

In Fig. 1, the base 15 of the stand is indicated as of flat square outline and the post or column of the device is indicated as secured to this fiat base by clamp nuts 16, 17.

This latter feature is shown more clearly in Fi 2 where one nut 16 is indicated as set in a recess 18 in the top of the base block 19 and the other nut 17 as occupying a space in the underside of the base block.

The column is preferably made in sections and for the sake of lightness and for the 0 ability to carry a wire therethrough, pref- Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the display tion with the clamp nuts engaged thereon above and below the base, the lower clamp nut acting against a washer 23. This construction permits the entire assembly to be detached from the base by unscrewing the lower nut 17, or the post with its parts to be taken off the base b unscrewing the same from the nipple whic is clamped to the base by the nuts 16, 17. The base 15 shown in Fig. 2 is indicated as thicker and more massive than the base in Fig. 1 and as of stepped construction at 24 to present a different appearance, but it will be seen that one base may be readily substituted for the other. This feature is true of the entire organization, all the parts being readily substitutable and interchangeable to present a great variety of appearances.

The other units of the stand, that is the units which provide the external make up of the column may be of many different shapes and styles, constructed so as to be threaded interchangeably over the post or core of the column. Thus, there are shown cubes or rectangular shapes 25, spheres 26, pyramids 27, hemispheres 28, discs or flat members 29, which may serves as shelves, heads or parts of anatomical figures 30, cylinders 31, Figs. 2 and 6, ellipsoidal shapes 32, Figs. 2, 7 and 9 and various kinds of article supports such as the flat shelves 29 already mentioned shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and special supports such as shoe display bracketslike that indicated at 33 in Fig. 11. V

After the various parts are strung on the post or pipe in the desired fanciful relation,- they may be secured so, for example, by a cap, such as shown at 34 in Fig. 12 screwed onto the'projecting end of the screw nipple 21 entercd in the upper or last pipe section, or as indicated in Fig. 2, where the stand also serves as a lamp by the lamp socket or electric outlet 35 screwed onto the upper end of the last nipple. The wires for this lamp or electric outlet are indicated at 36 in Fig. 2 as extended up through the column to the electric outlet.

If electric wires are used, the same may be brought out at an intermediate point or points as well as at the top of the stand by using a branch nipple or nipples such as shown at 37 in Fig. 14. This particular nipple is of a founway construction with vertical branches enabling it to be screwed into the opposing ends of pipe sections and horizontal branches through which the wires may be withdrawn in opposite directions for carrying current to electric lights, motors or other electrical devices. These horizontal branches are also shown as screw-threaded, so

that laterally extending pipe sections may be screwed thereon to form branches for supporting electric lights or simply to provide bracket arms for displaying difi'erent kinds of sales articles. In Fig. 14, this nipple is v indicated on a somewhat enlarged scale, but

- sections of it will be understood that preferably it is of a size to interfit with the pipe sections of the column.

Another feature of the invention is the making of the various units or prisms according to a predetermined scale or interchangeable relation. For example, the units may be made all of the same vertical dimension or a multiple of that dimension, so that all units may be interchanged and occupy the same length on the pipe or apredetermined number of one size units may be substituted for a single larger predetermined size unit. Thus, by way of example, the larger ball 26 in Fig. 1 has a diameter equal to the vertical height of the hemispheres 28 and so can be interchanged therewith, while the smallest ball has a diameter equal to half the height of the cube 16, so that two such spheres may be substituted atv any place in the stand to take up the height of a single cube. The intermediate size ball 26 has a diameter approximate ly one-third the height of the figure head 30, so that one such figure or three such spheres may be substituted, in the same height of stand. v

A similar relation may exist between the pipe, that is, the sections may be all the same length or the sections may be made in different lengths,with the larger sections a multiple length of or hearing a similar relation to the shorter sections. By way of example in Fig. 1, the upper pipe section, shown as having a joint with the lower pipe section at 38 is substantially half the length of the lower section and so two of the shorter sections may be substituted in place of one larger section. This multiple relation may be varied or departed from and one way of effecting such variation is indicated by the special couplingshown in Fig. 13 and consisting of a short pipe section 20' interiorly threaded at the lower end to fit one of the nipples 21 and having a nipple entered in its upper end or threaded correspondingly as shown at 21 to be engaged by the next pipe section or other fitting. Thus with various lengths of these arbitrary size pipe sections, practically any desired height of stand can he built up and compensated for different lengths of the stand units or blocks. These blocks in the various shapes of cubes, spheres, pyramids and other polygonal or curved shapes, symmetrical or unsymmetrical in design, may be made of wood or any other suitable material. Each of these block, units, Whether it be in a geometrical form or in a purely fanciful forin, preferably constitutes in and of itself a complete unitary shape or design, so that for its etfect, each is independent of the others, and so that by juxtaposing strikingly dissimilar forms many and unusual striking and even startling eflects may be produced. By making the rod or pipe of small diameter, the effect may be produced of difi'erent geometrical prisms appearing as balanced one on top of the other. The shelves, brackets or articlesupports, may be located as many as desired at intermediate points or at the top of the stand and a final fastening may be employed at the top or not as considered best. The length of time which the stand is to remain in a given form, may determine this latter question. In some cases, it may be suflieient simply to set the top bracket or article support loosely over the upper end of the pipe. By way of example, the shoe display bracket illustrated in Fig. 11 might simply be placed loosely over the upper end of the pipe on top of the last object threaded on the pipe. Such an arrangement permits the bracket being quickly removed and the stand being converted in short order to other variegated shapes. The invention, it will be seen makes it possible for a merchant with only one stand and a set of variegated shapes of stand units to build up the stand according to his own ideas of ornamentation and display and to quickly convert the same to strikingly different displays whenever and as many times as considered desirable. By having extra units and extra lengths of pipe, couplings and fittings, the stand may be altered in innumerable ways in size, appearance and purpose. Attimes, the electric outlets may be employed and at other times the stand may be used solely as a me chanical ornamental form of support. The merchant is thus enabled at comparatively small expense to provide himself with a display construction, enabling him to vary his display continuously and indefinitely and to exercise his own individuality and ingenuity in the building up of such displays.

\Vhat is claimed is:

A display stand of interchangeable variable size and appearance, comprising a sectional post consisting of externally smooth pipe sections internally screw-threaded at the opposite ends of the same and screw nipples inserted in the internally screwthreaded ends of said pipe sections and coupling the same together as a rigid continuous externally smooth post blocks of difiereut geometrical shapes raving openings therethrough of larger size than said sectional post, said blocks being loosely strung in freely interchangeable relation over the post, and article supporting means also loose- 1y strung on the post, supported by the loose interchangeable blocks thereon and freely shiftable to different positions on the post, said blocks being of difi'erent lengths and the pipe sections being of lengths related to the different lengths of the blocks, whereby V3,- rious numbers of blocks of difi'erent shapes may be built up todifferent heights of stands.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.-

DUDLEY HESS. 

